Dark Samus at Evo

[Michael48]

I did the best I could to carry Dark Samus to the end. Went out 257th. Not sure if any Samus players were able to go farther. I learned some things to maybe push farther in the future.

W - Joker
L - Mii Gunner
W - Lucina
W - PKMN Trainer
W - Fox
W - Sheik
W - Joker
W - Inkling
L - Pikachu

 

[Crystanium]

What did you learn?

 

[Michael48]

What did you learn?

For me personally I need to incorporate more spot dodges and f-tilt into my style. I know Samus is generally weaker when characters are right in her face and using only jab/screw attack or pivot grab mixups aren't enough so gotta add those two tools.

Also, in general I got baited into being grab happy a couple times.

This was my first time travelling outside of my region and something I learned is that we jump to much back home.

 

[Downshift]

What strategy worked best against Joker?

 

[Michael48]

Definitely always edgeguard him, especially with bombs.

Also, if are in neutral against Arsene, you can pretty safely spam bombs and move in the opposite direction to cover his projectile. Just wastes a bit of time.

Another thing I like to do is bait out the counter/reflect with charge shot cancel and get grabs.

In terms of movement I think they both have plus and minuses against each other. I definitely got killed at 70% a couple times because Arsene is OP. Just take advantage of Joker being forced to approach you and try to get kills before Arsene is active. Once Arsene is out, if you play smart you can time out the meter with bomb stalls, bomb traps, and pea-shooter charge shots. If you hit a true setup then go for it, otherwise (like most of the cast) it is kind of pointless to go for potential trades against Arsene. The payoff is almost always negative.

 

[Downshift]

Also, if are in neutral against Arsene, you can pretty safely spam bombs and move in the opposite direction to cover his projectile. Just wastes a bit of time.
***
Once Arsene is out, if you play smart you can time out the meter with bomb stalls, bomb traps, and pea-shooter charge shots. If you hit a true setup then go for it, otherwise (like most of the cast) it is kind of pointless to go for potential trades against Arsene. The payoff is almost always negative.

That actually sounds a lot like the Cloud matchup with his new Limit Break only lasting 15 seconds.
You think Cloud is harder since he can charge limit for free and throw out blade beams if you try to force him to approach?

 

[Michael48]

For Samus, I would agree that Cloud can also be tricky. I don't use bomb as much because the limit charge kit goes through them (like firing full charge shot through Link's arrows). Since Cloud doesn't have Joker's absorb/reflect we can safely fire missiles and charge shots. But yes, if you are going to attempt to stall Cloud limit I would just be mindful of your position relative to Cloud's attacks. Samus gets stuck in bomb form for longer than it takes limit blade beam to travel and hit her. He can also burst in quickly for limit side-B.